Moving Towards Emmaus (Paperback)

For Christians, the retreat from Jerusalem after the crucifixion and the loss of hope of the two walkers to Emmaus seems to parallel so many aspects of the post-Christendom context, and helps to make sense of what is otherwise baffling for many. But the story connects too with many contemporary humanists who have their own reasons for uncertainty today, and with Muslims who may also be found as companions in dialogue on the Emmaus road. Each chapter of the book reflects on an aspect of the biblical narrative, and is followed by a 'Dispatch from Emmaus, in which a writer (e.g. Albert Camus, Jacques Ellul or Tatiana Goricheva) is allowed to testify concerning the particular topic under discussion. The result is what amounts to a dialogue between faith and unfaith, allowing the expression of both despair and the recovery of hope.

David Smith was co-director of the Whitefield Institute in Oxford before taking up his present post as lecturer in Mission and World Christianity at the International Christian College in Glasgow. He previously served as a missionary in West Africa for several years. His books include Transforming the World: The Social Impact of British Evangelicalism, Crying in the Wilderness (both Paternoster Press), Mission After Christendom (D.L.T., ) and Against the Stream: Christianity and mission in an age of globalization (I.V.P.).